I’ll be honest: I don’t like going into high-stakes conversations unprepared. At Grow Therapy, I once found myself pushing hard for an audio-first user experience for session topics. I wasn’t just throwing an idea out there—I had come armed with research. I’d run deep dives using ChatGPT to map out the advantages of different voice-first paradigms, and I had partnered with one of our most senior researchers (we’ll call her Hannah) to strengthen the case. By the time I walked into the discussion with our CTO, I felt like I had the data, the insights, and the conviction to push this forward.
“Strong opinions backed by research are valuable—but leadership means knowing when to yield.”
The Tension
But here’s the thing about strong opinions: they don’t always win, even when they’re well-researched. Our CTO wasn’t convinced. From his perspective, audio-first carried risks that outweighed the potential upside—complexity, accessibility trade-offs, and the cost of retraining user expectations. I made my case with passion, but at some point, I had to recognize that conviction alone wasn’t going to move the decision.
The Outcome
We moved forward without the audio-first approach. At first, it felt like a loss—I’d invested so much energy into exploring and framing this idea. But in hindsight, it wasn’t wasted effort. The research informed our understanding of future possibilities. It helped clarify trade-offs, and it demonstrated to leadership that design was willing to dig deep, explore boldly, and come to the table with evidence.
The Lesson
Strong opinions backed by research are important. They show initiative, rigor, and care. But leadership also means knowing when to yield—when to let go of an idea, even one you believe in, so the team can align and move forward.